Rising farm debt sparks call for national summit

Lobby group Farmer Power wants a national summit to address debt levels that it says are crippling Australian farmers.

Farmer Power has released a list of 17 ideas to try to combat farm debt.

They include introducing a tax on milk and compensating farmers for the high Australian dollar.

Chairman Chris Gleeson says the Federal Government needs to convene a summit that brings together as many farmers as possible.

"To develop a national program, set up a rural bank, be able to deal with and set up for farmers at low interest rates to be able to control and manage their debt that is spiralling out of control in the current situation," he said.

Farmer Power is calling for the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to address farm debt levels.

Mr Gleeson says a working party needs to be formed by COAG within a month.

"There's an urgency out there, especially in the West Australian wheat growers and the farmers in south-west Victoria, there is a lot of farmers going into receivership," he said.